SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Bulgaria’s parliament Wednesday permitted the supply of additional military aid to Ukraine in its struggle with Russia.
At a closed-door assembly, lawmakers voted 141-40, with three abstentions, in favor of supplying Ukraine with faulty surface-to-air missiles for the Russian-made S-300 air protection system and small-caliber computerized weapon ammunition discarded by the Inside Ministry, the state-run BTA information company reported.
Navy consultants mentioned the missiles can’t be repaired in Bulgaria, however Ukraine has the wanted services to repair them or use them for spare components.
The Chief of Protection, Adm. Emil Eftimov, assured lawmakers that the supplied weapons don’t hurt Bulgaria’s defensive capabilities.
“Now we have no intention of giving (Ukraine) the whole S-300 missile advanced till we discover a alternative functionality,” he mentioned.
The vote mirrored divisions in the Balkan country over sending army support to Ukraine. It sparked criticism from the Socialist Celebration and the pro-Russia nationalists from the Revival Celebration who voted in opposition to sending the help.
Bulgaria, which joined NATO in 2004, nonetheless maintains shares of Soviet-designed weapons and has quite a few factories making munitions for them.
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